1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to baby pacifiers, and more particularly, to a combination night light and pacifier system.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of pacifiers to calm babies is well known. A large variety of pacifiers exist for use by children having different wants or needs. Such pacifiers may include a handle which acts as a teething ring. Most known pacifiers consist of three essential parts, namely, a nipple, a mouth template and a handle. These pieces are generally constructed of plastic or rubber, or a combination thereof so that they may be easily cleaned and sterilized.
Furthermore, babies become dependent upon pacifiers, but often lose them or accidentally throw them away. Such lost or accidentally thrown away pacifiers can be difficult to find, particularly in the middle of a dark room or environment. It is known to provide a pacifier with a light emitting diode, or the like, so that such a pacifier may be more easily found in the dark and quickly returned to a baby. U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,571 to Tesler and U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,902 to Swartz illustrate pacifiers which are either luminous, or contain a light emitting diode, to enable such pacifiers to be easily found in a dark environment.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,924 to Jekel discloses a baby pacifier having a straight bar handle to facilitate the grasping of the same by an infant, and also includes a cylindrically movable clip-on luminescent sheath for mounting over the cross-bar. This sheath can be removed so as to be charged in a bright light, and returned to the bar where it glows, to facilitate the infant's grasp of the pacifier in the dark.
Finally, U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 243,366 to Lybe et al, 249,161 to Rohrig and U.S. Pat. No. 276,939 to Pasco all show various protective casings or shaped pacifiers for use by babies.
As noted, because of their size, pacifiers used by babies are frequently lost. To overcome this problem, securing means or means for fixing such pacifiers to a baby have been proposed. These securing features are provided for substantially the same reasons that pacifiers have been made luminous. However, a common disadvantage of all the known prior art is that there is no known system for easily storing the pacifiers when not in use, and, in the case of luminescent pacifiers, no easy means for charging the luminescence thereof, without removing the same and placing the pacifiers under a bright light. A further disadvantage of the known pacifiers, is that they are not always attractive to a child, nor are they easily grasped by the small hands of a baby.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a pacifier system which provides a storage means for pacifiers where they may be stored so as to be easily found when desired to be used, and which system also charges the luminescence of the pacifiers, so that they may be more easily found in the dark.